LYNN – Starting today, Champion Bar & Grill at 170 Broad St. will begin serving a 27-day liquor license suspension for serving alcohol to a minor, plus an additional six days after challenging the violation and a rollback of its hours to 12 a.m.According to Licensing Board chairman Richard Coppinger, Champion Manager Liang Bo Li and his attorney John Mihos agreed to a strict 42-day suspension for the bar on Thursday, which includes two separate 21-day suspensions.Only 27 days of the fine are required to be served immediately, with the remaining 15 days of the suspension held in the event another violation occurs within one year.Upon completion of the 27-day suspension, Coppinger said the bar would then be required to finish serving the remaining suspension of its rollback of hours from 1 a.m. to midnight.The bar has already served 20 days of a previous 45-day suspension, which was required after the bar violated the rollback on Sept. 3 when Lynn Police say four Guatemalan males were served alcohol at 12:20 a.m.The rollback was originally handed down the same night as the 21-day suspension on Aug. 26, due to a number of previous violations.”I think we reached a fair agreement for a very severe sanction,” Coppinger said. “This is certainly a last-chance situation for them. But if there is another violation, they would be required to serve the 15-day suspension and the license would very much be in jeopardy.”Although they filed a complaint on Sept. 10 in Salem Superior Court against the board’s ruling to roll back its hours, Li and Mihos instead opted to settle for a stiffer penalty out of court with city attorney Vincent Phelan.In the complaint, Mihos requested a temporary restraining order against the rollback and said Li was aggrieved by the board’s ruling and claimed proper notice was not given to determine if there was a public need for the rollback.Coppinger said the board offered the option of holding another public hearing to determine the need, but in the end, Mihos and Li opted against that route.Li agreed to withdraw an appeal to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) for a 21-day suspension handed to the pub on Aug. 26 in conjunction with the rollback, and was given the second 21-day suspension on top of the original fine.”The establishment is up for sale and the new owner would get the 1 a.m. closing time,” Coppinger said. “But all of the sanctions would have to be served first before the sale.”
